Check data in Python and Excel
As data arrives, trace any sudden forecast jump back through its inputs and math before handing it on.
Career profile
Quantitative Financial Analyst
Quantitative analysts build math-based models that help price investments and measure financial risk.
How much could a portfolio lose? You take a money question such as this and turn it into calculations others can check and use.
A day in the life
Backtest a trading idea
In investment research jobs, you code a math-based rule and test it against past market data.
Explain what moved the losses
Change assumptions like interest rates, rework the losses, and tell risk managers which change drove the result.
Compare predictions with what happened
When errors persist, look into whether to change the model and note where its output needs caution.
Quick facts
Quantitative degree; often graduate study
United States
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Compare salaries for the specific modeling role and location.
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Opportunities depend on the specialty and employer.
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
Quantitative degree; often graduate studySome graduate roles accept a bachelor's degree; many quantitative jobs expect a master's.
Pay
Not displayedCompare salaries for the specific modeling role and location.
Outlook
Not displayedOpportunities depend on the specialty and employer.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You enjoy figuring out why a calculation works.
- You willingly check an appealing answer for mistakes.
- You like explaining technical ideas in ordinary words.
Things to weigh
- Expect substantial desk time; workweeks can extend beyond 40 hours.
- You must explain weaknesses in your own model and respond when reviewers challenge its assumptions.
Where AI may help
Scripts can prepare data, run forecasts, and check outputs automatically, reducing repeated manual steps.
What people still lead
People choose what the model should answer, judge its assumptions, and decide whether its limitations matter for the intended use.
What we can’t predict yet
How much more testing can be automated depends on whether tools remain reliable as data and model uses change.
Pay in context
Earnings
The ranges below describe two specific jobs, not typical pay or an industry-wide comparison. Base salary and discretionary incentives are separate.
Bank risk modeling
Bank of America lists $89,800–$155,000 annually for a New Jersey quantitative finance analyst role, with discretionary incentive eligibility. Offers depend on experience, education, and skills.
Investment research
Citadel lists $235,000–$300,000 in annual base salary for its university-graduate quantitative research analyst role in New York, Miami, or Greenwich, plus discretionary incentive eligibility. This is not a general starting-pay range.
Getting started
Earn a quantitative degree
- What the route involves
- Study mathematics, statistics, physics, computer science, or a related quantitative subject; develop research and programming experience.
- What it can lead to
- A bachelor's or master's can meet the degree requirement for some graduate quantitative research roles.
- What to check
- Some bank modeling jobs call for a related master's degree or equivalent work experience, plus relevant model-development experience.
Join a quantitative finance internship
- What the route involves
- At JPMorganChase, interns help develop or validate models with support from mentors. Preparation includes advanced mathematics or programming, financial knowledge, and research skills.
- What it can lead to
- You gain modeling experience and training; strong performance may lead to a full-time offer.
- What to check
- Check the individual opening for eligibility and location. An internship does not guarantee employment.
Build strong mathematics, programming, and research skills. Employers differ in how much education and experience they expect.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization.
Get established
Learn the team's data and model workflow. Become dependable at checking inputs, reproducing results, and documenting problems.
Develop your judgment
Take a model change through testing. Explain why you chose its assumptions and what evidence would make you revise them.
Specialize or lead
Deepen expertise in loss forecasting or investment valuation, then take on broader model responsibilities or mentor other analysts.
Where you can work
Bank forecasting teams
Monthly and quarterly forecast cycles shape the work. You coordinate with model developers and technology colleagues to keep calculations and reporting dependable.
- Indoors
- Office
Investment research teams
Your models feed investment strategies and live trading. Research, coding, and repeated tests happen in a fast-paced team environment.
- Indoors
- Office
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
In a spreadsheet, invent 100 loans of $1,000 each. Estimate losses if 2, 5, or 10 borrowers repay nothing. Then let each repay half. Write which assumption changed losses most and why. Notice whether you enjoy questioning the assumptions as much as calculating the answer.
Stay safe: Use fictional numbers only; this simplified exercise is not a lending or investment model.
Sources
- O*NET OnLine. Financial Quantitative Analysts. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Citadel. Quantitative Research Analyst – University Graduate (US). Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Bank of America. Quantitative Finance Analyst — Job 26034923. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Bank of America. Quantitative Finance Analyst — Job 26034102. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Supervisory Guidance on Model Risk Management. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- JPMorganChase. Quantitative Finance. Accessed 2026-10-03.